The IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate spotlights the benefits of ambitious and effective adaptation for sustainable development and, conversely, the escalating costs and...

WMO, the World Bank and its Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) have committed to intensify joint action in order to improve country capacities that build resilience to extreme weather events, climate and disaster impacts. The Action Plan for scaling up collaboration was signed during a meeting on 1 April between World Bank interim President Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank Vice-President Laura Tuck and WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

The Coastal Inundation Forecasting Demonstration Project (CIFDP) has been developing and implementing a Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) for coastal flooding, from both rivers and the ocean, for the last ten years. Since its establishment in 2009, three demonstration projects have been completed – Bangladesh (2017), Caribbean (2018), Indonesia (2019) – and a fourth, Fiji, is on-track for completion by the end of 2019.

Joint session of Mediterranean, South East European, Northern Africa and Arab Climate Outlook Forums was held in Cairo, Egypt, from 26 to 29 November 2018. The Forum produced a seasonal climate outlook for the 2018-2019 boreal winter season over the entire Mediterranean region, as well as sub-regional outlooks for South East Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, and agreed on a common approach to ensure harmonized information across overlapping areas.

The Climate Risk & Early Warning Systems (CREWS) Initiative launched new activities in the Pacific Islands in the last six months. Both Papua New Guinea and Fiji, islands already affected by the impacts of climate change, will be benefiting from early warning systems (EWS) being implemented for climate change mitigation and adaption.